ESPN Guess is ready to launch throughout 17 states this week on Tuesday, November 14.
ESPN Guess is now powering odds on the ESPN web site and on its community programming. The sportsbook is ready to launch this week. (Picture: ESPN)
Within the leadup to the debut of the retail and on-line sportsbook, ESPN has swapped out its odds supplier from Caesars Sportsbook to its namesake sports activities betting entity. ESPN, the Disney-owned cable sports activities programmer, in August reached a cope with Penn Leisure to permit the on line casino operator to leverage the worldwide sports activities model into its sports activities betting enterprise.
Penn ditched its earlier sportsbook companion, Barstool Sports activities, along side it agreeing to provide ESPN $1.5 billion over a 10-year interval to make use of the sports activities community identification.
Since sports activities betting went mainstream following the US Supreme Courtroom’s Might 2018 determination that punted a federal legislation that had restricted single-game wagering to Nevada, ESPN had a partnership with Caesars Leisure that allowed the sports activities community to make the most of its Caesars Sportsbook odds in its programming.
That just lately modified when ESPN ditched Caesars Sportsbook for ESPN Guess, which was part of the Penn deal. For this weekend’s slate of NFL video games, the ESPN web site exhibits “Odds by ESPN Guess.”
Regulators Voice Concern
Massachusetts is one state the place ESPN Guess will launch this week on-line and at Penn’s Plainridge Park On line casino. Through the Massachusetts Gaming Fee’s (MGC) overview of the ESPN Guess utility, commissioners voiced considerations concerning the sportsbook being the primary to make the most of a third-party model as its identification.
Commissioners contemplated whether or not shoppers could be confused about the place the road is drawn between ESPN the sports activities programmer and ESPN Guess the sportsbook. Commissioner Jordan Maynard detailed an instance involving ESPN character Pat McAfee discussing weekly faculty soccer predictions.
He has the traces which can be set. He goes by way of every one and he begins speaking about, with a panel, who he thinks goes to win. Is he being an analyst? Is he advertising [for ESPN Bet]?” What’s he doing in that present? How can we defend shoppers to verify they’re not listening to Pat after which making a probably dangerous guess?”
ESPN Guess officers stated there will probably be an array of guardrails between the entities, as Penn Leisure is solely operating the sportsbook’s operations and won’t have any affect on ESPN’s programming content material or journalistic integrity.
Brand Ditches Mint Coloration
The ESPN Guess brand on the ESPN web site is all black, one thing that could possibly be associated to a dispute raised by a peer-to-peer social betting startup known as BroThrow.
BroThrow, an Arkansas-based firm, permits bettors to facilitate bets between pals, household, and different customers. BroThrow CEO Brady Sharp advised SportsHandle final month that the mint-colored ESPN Guess brand that the sportsbook debuted in October too intently resembled its personal.
“It’s one factor in the event you’re a mom-and-pop ironmongery shop in Iowa and your brand will get impersonated by a sports activities betting firm,” Sharp stated. “It’s one other factor to be within the sports activities betting enterprise and see it utilized by one other sports activities betting firm, particularly one as huge as ESPN.”
